AC Milan’s chief football officer Zvonimir Boban has said that he has been hurt after the embarrassing 5-0 defeat at the hands of Atalanta. The Rossoneri suffered their worst-ever loss in more than two decades and that sees them 14 points adrift of the Champions League places, heading into the winter break.

Speaking to reporters, Boban said that the Rossoneri simply failed to show up against Atalanta and it was painful to witness the domination from the opponent. He added that the San Siro outfit want to get back to their glory days but that progress will take time with the club still under a cloud.

With the quality of Champions League opposition about to take a drastic hike, what can we already expect from the surviving Serie A clubs’ respective knockout fixtures?

Juventus favourites despite slim margins
In reality, the presence of Juventus in the knockouts was always a given, and they had secured Group D’s top spot even before their final group stage matchday. Cementing that berth via a close-fought 1-0 win over Atlético Madrid showed the full extent of Juventus’ tenacity. It also followed a theme, with 66% of their preceding 2019 Champions League group wins also being settled by a single goal.

The agent of Napoli defender Elseid Hysaj has revealed that Chelsea were interest in signing the Albanian during the summer of 2018. The Blues had recruited Maurizio Sarri as their new manager last year and there were suggestions that he could be reunited with a number of players from the Stadio San Paolo.

However, Jorginho was the only purchase for the Blues from the Naples outfit but it appears that there was an approach from the west London giants for Hysaj. Speaking to Radio Punto Nuovo, agent Marco has revealed that Napoli had received a £43m bid from the Blues for Hysaj but they opted against sanctioning the sale of the versatile defender.

AC Milan boss Marco Giampaolo has taken the responsibility after the Rossoneri continued their poor start to the season with yet another league defeat. The Rossoneri had gone into the home game against Fiorentina after two successive losses and they could not end the streak as the visitors picked up a 3-1 triumph.

That was partly contributed by the Rossoneri receiving a third red card in four matches and the result sees them within one point of the drop zone. Speaking after the game, Giampaolo said that he takes the responsibility for the defeat but remained adamant that he has the right ideas to succeed with the San Siro outfit.

When you look at Europe’s top football leagues, it’s very rare to find a team that’s continually crowned as champions year after year.

Sure, a team may achieve back-to-back titles, even three or four in some cases, yet over in Italy, Juventus are currently gunning for their ninth consecutive Serie A title this season – an incredible feat and testament to their sheer domestic dominance over the past decade.

Inter Milan boss Antonio Conte is confident that Romelu Lukaku will be an excellent signing for the club once he adapts to the demands of the Serie A. The Belgium international was regularly linked with the Nerazzurri throughout the summer and he eventually made the move to the San Siro before the Premier League transfer deadline.

Speaking to Inter TV, Conte said that he has no doubts regarding the quality of the former Anderlecht graduate and he is confident that he can prove his credentials at the club. However, the former Chelsea boss acknowledged that Lukaku needs to work hard on the physical and tactical point of view before commanding a regular place with the team, he quipped: "He also needs to work hard, both from a physical point of view and to get used to the way we're trying to go about things. He'll certainly be an excellent signing, we're really happy. He'll show great desire and commitment to get himself ready."

Inter Milan chairman Steven Zhang has said that the club will aim to reach greater heights during the forthcoming years. The Nerazzurri’s turnover has tripled since the takeover by the Suning group three years ago and that has brought positive results on the field where the club have qualified for the Champions League in the past two seasons.

Speaking to Xinhua, Zhang said that the Nerazzurri have their targets to keep growing in the forthcoming years with the aim of eventually the top side in the world, he told: “In the next three or five years, Inter will keep growing and set higher targets. The value of our players, our brand and the perception of the club will all be significantly improved just by taking part in the Champions League. For sure, the higher we climb the more persevering we’ll have to be, going step by step. In the next three, five and 10 years we need to move towards the objective of being on top of the world.”

Italy’s legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has thanked Juventus after they gave him the opportunity to link up with Cristiano Ronaldo. The 41-year-old had become a free agent following his one-year stint with Paris Saint-Germain and instead of taking up a new challenge, he made the comeback with Juventus, where he made 656 appearances between 2001 and 2018.

Speaking to reporters, Buffon expressed the situation of playing with Ronaldo as beautiful. He added that he had the similar opportunity of working with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe at Parc des Princes and he is pleased to be concluding his career with such players around him, he said: "It's beautiful. At the end of my career I was able to play with Neymar and [Kylian] Mbappe thanks to Paris Saint-Germain, now it will happen with Cristiano Ronaldo thanks to Juventus. "I think that for players with my experience and with my history, to be able to end the career in such a way is a splendid gift."

The summer transfer window wouldn’t be the same without Juventus exploiting the Bosman market by nabbing the bargain of the summer and snapping up Europe’s finest for the grand prize of €0.

Just this week, the latest jealousy maker arrived when photos on social media showed Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot heading to Turin. The 24-year-old France midfielder is the 15th Bosman free transfer completed by Juventus in the past nine years. Doing business this way is a no-brainer and Juventus are the kings of it.

Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has dismissed the ongoing speculation which has linked him with a potential move to Inter Milan this summer. The Switzerland international has been with the Gunners for the past three seasons and during this period, he has developed into one of the club’s most consistent performers.

A recent report from Gazzetta dello Sport happened to suggest that Xhaka could make a shock exit from the Emirates this summer with Nerazzurri boss Antonio Conte keen on working alongside him. However, when asked about the same, Xhaka insisted that there is no truth to the transfer story and he has made no contact with the San Siro giants, he said: “It is [a move to Inter] something the newspapers have written about. But there is no truth. I have never had contact with Inter. It is just speculation.”